Taylor Knibb olympic races

Triathlon Forum
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LCB validated doing IM Nice, Anne Haug validated doing IM Lanzarote, Laura Philipp validated doing 70.3 Kraichgau, 70.3 Valencia & 70.3 Mallorca, Daniela Ryf validated with IM South Africa (she did it with pre-race injury, knowing it will take her longer to recover but that’s what needed to be done). All other women needed to qualify. //

How many of those ladies were on their olympic teams(in two different sports) seriously fighting for a medal)and actually won one)?? Different circumstances, one could say extraordinary perhaps?? (-;

No one is questioning that what she tried to do was amazing. People are questioning the fact that she clearly chose the money from t100 over the easy validation from her own house and now she asking for a bail out. It’s not like her schedule didn’t allow her to do another 70.3 she just chose the path with more money and now she will have to live with it if Im says no. No ones fault but here in that regard unless she wants to go validate next weekend which she still can but is once again choosing not to.

Is she asking for a bailout? Or just speculation on here? Haven’t seen it reported anywhere.

Would you not consider asking for a wildcard a bailout or just that we might not know if she formally requested one? She banked on a gold medal and that didn’t happen so she needs help to get in hence a bailout. You can call it whatever you like. I think her mentioning it in an interview is about as formal as it gets unless there’s a process I don’t know about to request one.

Must have missed the part of the thread where that was linked to the video or article in which this mention was made. Can you point that out? I’ve scrolled through every page of this thread.

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You seem a bit obsessed with how advantaged Taylor would be compared to other female athletes by coming into Nice without not having done an Ironman this summer. I’d contend that the lack of serious distance run prep and experience pacing a marathon after an 112mile hard bike is a significant disadvantage rather than advantage. We saw the outcome last October and might well see the same in Nice.

YMMV,

Hugh

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You seem a bit obsessed with how advantaged Taylor would be compared to other female athletes by coming into Nice without not having done an Ironman this summer. I’d contend that the lack of serious distance run prep and experience pacing a marathon after an 112mile hard bike is a significant disadvantage rather than advantage. We saw the outcome last October and might well see the same in Nice.

YMMV,

Hugh

That could very well be the case but i would also argue that any marathon she would have to do before the race would take a bigger toll on her than others if she’s not doing the long course prep. So could be a distinct advantage to her. Probably a reason she’s not trying to validate which she could do.

I get what Monty is saying and she is a special talent but maybe others aren’t trying to do it because they think the schedule would prohibit them from trying it. They look at the schedule and say it’s too ambitious to do that because of all the races that are needed. But if you can remove some qualifying races and still do the championship level races it may be more doable. Would usat just allow her at the Olympics if she skipped all the wts races because she’s 70.3 world champion and tt us champion. I know usat is not a private company and IM can do what they want.

Here’s the article.

https://www.triathlete.com/events/olympics/taylor-knibb-says-no-to-l-a-parking-lot-olympic-triathlon-reveals-whats-next/

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Is she asking for a bailout? Or just speculation on here? Haven’t seen it reported anywhere.Would you not consider asking for a wildcard a bailout or just that we might not know if she formally requested one?
I think her mentioning it in an interview is about as formal as it gets Must have missed the part of the thread where that was linked to the video or article in which this mention was made. Can you point that out? I’ve scrolled through every page of this thread.See 'ere:
https://www.triathlete.com/events/olympics/taylor-knibb-says-no-to-l-a-parking-lot-olympic-triathlon-reveals-whats-next/ That split of hers bodes well for staying in the short course game until LA 2028.Pretty sure you won’t see Taylor in LA let alone another WTS race.

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I love at the bottom of that article where they list her race schedule since the Tokyo olympics. 26 races that mostly all required travel, what a sandbagger… (-; Carry on…

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Very helpful, thank you!

I’m more surprised that she’s already saying she’s done with the Olympics which is unfortunate. She’s at an age where she fits perfectly into the next cycle and isn’t stopping anyone coming through and right now she’s our strongest athlete. So losing her would suck.

Ironman could easily not answer. She chose to focus on T100, that’s her choice.

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Very helpful, thank you!

I’m more surprised that she’s already saying she’s done with the Olympics which is unfortunate. She’s at an age where she fits perfectly into the next cycle and isn’t stopping anyone coming through and right now she’s our strongest athlete. So losing her would suck.

Ironman could easily not answer. She chose to focus on T100, that’s her choice.

Is it that she is done with the Olympics or is she done with the control of NGBs and everything that goes with it.

Funded athletes have to ask permission to race, have to have their sponsors approved by US Tri, there has to have regular reviews of training regimes etc.

I can’t imagine for 1 minute that she enjoys that. Who knows what other politics go on behind the scenes that she doesn’t discuss.

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That didn’t happen so she is asking to get let in. We will see what IM says but like I said before they told KB that no gold means he has to validate. Isn’t there one more race Taylor can use to validate? If this means so much to her why wouldn’t she just go do that?Yes, she could race IM Kalmar next Saturday (IM Frankfurt is MPro only). But going from an MTR on 5 August to a full distance on 17 August would be mental (KB mental).

Since she did Oceanside, is there another 70.3 she could do ?

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I am going to call BS.

No otherITU athlete is trying to do Nice and Olympics.

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I am going to call BS.

No otherITU athlete is trying to do Nice and Olympics.

KB is? And no the window for a 70.3 is closed. She could do a full IM like kb is but that’s all.

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I am going to call BS.

No otherITU athlete is trying to do Nice and Olympics.

KB is? And no the window for a 70.3 is closed. She could do a full IM like kb is but that’s all.

Actually, Nice is only for pro women. KB is trying to do Kona and Oly. Knibb is AFAIK the only ITU woman trying to do both Nice and the Oly.

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@sheridan said “I am going to call BS.”
No other ITU athlete is trying to do Nice and Olympics.I’m sure you’re spot on @Sheridan, seeing we have no insight into what you are calling BS.
Knibb has completed the Olympics and seems to hope that IMWC 2024 remains a possibility, but having not validated or otherwise earned a slot, she relies on IRONMAN offering her a wildcard given her “extraordinary circumstances” (she had to race a T100 that day (8 June) when she could have defended her 70.3 Boulder ‘title’).
I expect IRONMAN to offer Knibb a wildcard, for commercial reasons. I think racing Nice is unwise and may prejudice her chances of achieving her 2024 secondary and tertiary goals (T100 World Champs and 70.3WC) (medalling in the Olympics was the avowed primary one).
I think IRONMAN might offer a slot to Julie Derron! She’s already heading for Taupo and that will be ‘interesting’ given she won’t be exhausted from two T100 races at fortnight intervals and can prepare away from it all in China.

16-Nov PTO T100 (Gulf: Dubai
29-Nov PTO T100 WC (Gulf: Xxxx)
14-Dec 70.3 70.3 WC - Taupo

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Very helpful, thank you!

I’m more surprised that she’s already saying she’s done with the Olympics which is unfortunate. She’s at an age where she fits perfectly into the next cycle and isn’t stopping anyone coming through and right now she’s our strongest athlete. So losing her would suck.

Ironman could easily not answer. She chose to focus on T100, that’s her choice.

Is it that she is done with the Olympics or is she done with the control of NGBs and everything that goes with it.

Funded athletes have to ask permission to race, have to have their sponsors approved by US Tri, there has to have regular reviews of training regimes etc.

I can’t imagine for 1 minute that she enjoys that. Who knows what other politics go on behind the scenes that she doesn’t discuss.

She doesn’t hit out at USAT, but she does so at the ITU/World Triathlon:
“The first thing I said after the individual race is how do we change the course in L.A.? I don’t want to lap around a parking lot in Long Beach. I’m told the IOC has defined it, so if we’re complacent, that’s all OK,” she added. “There are a lot of exciting races out there, so that’s my choice. But if that’s the direction you’re heading and there are no hills, then yes, my bike is my strength and I’m going to own my strength.”

She has two weapons in the Bike and Run she’d like to be able to use. And the LA course doesn’t suit her.

Knibb’s other bone of contention is a lack of racing opportunities, particularly closer to home. Knibb cited the multiple options for WTCS-level racing prior to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games—seven—when compared to only four WTCS events before Paris in 2024, one of which was canceled. “They are massive, massive trips for Americans, and we’re not hosting any,” she added.

But also, how do you prep for the Olympics when a season usually has what 4 prep events? Oh and you lose one completely ? Perhaps the issue there is how the ITU structures their season around a Calendar Year instead of the Northern Hemisphere Sports Year (generally September-May). As per Monty’s post above she has raced a ton in the last two years but the WTCS has been a mess this whole cycle for athletes trying to train towards the Olympics.

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https://www.instagram.com/p/C_f-nGyRVNk/?igsh=MXZrYWltMGo0M3B5cg==

Knibb not on the Nice start list

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I think they needed to set a precedent with her on this. T100 is trying to put in more races next year and if they let Taylor in this year without validating why wouldn’t someone like Lucy call their bluff next year. She’s a way bigger draw for Ironman than Taylor.

Might also look bad that the defending champ hurt herself validating this year and having to validate probably was a big factor in why ryf retired early.

At the end of the day it’s probably better for Taylor she didn’t get in. She was destroyed from the race last year and has a lot of racing to do after the nice weekend this year.

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USACycling also just announced their World Championship teams and she’s not on the WC TT team either.

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Interesting. Maybe the post Olympic lull took longer for her to get out of? Maybe she wanted to go all in on Ibiza?

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IRONMAN’s start list article/preview:

I note that #5 is missing: a nod to the 5 times World Champion.

What evidence is there that LCB “hurt herself validating this year”? After her volte face (“I’m all in on T100 and won’t race in Nice”) she raced IM Nice (with a 2:50 marathon after a steady ride), missing T100 SF to do so. And 2 months later raced T100 London with no whiff of injury until she felt a tweak on the run after 2km (not catching Simmonds btw and going (projected) to be beaten by Gentle, Matthews and Philipp) and precautionary DNF’d.
It’s clear from Ryf’s sharing that hers is/was a long term injury. Sooner or later she had to race a full distance. T100 Miami went OK and was her choice to validate in IMSA in April, perhaps knowing she was fragile. No requirement for validation would mean a full would be the IMWC (Nice) and a likely DNS/DNF. Better she called it a day on her own terms, South Africa having given her the evidence needed.

[quote=“An_apple, post:336, topic:831635”] At the end of the day it’s probably better for Taylor she didn’t get in. She was destroyed from the race last year
Maybe the post Olympic lull took longer for her to get out of?[/quote]
Agree that it is better for Knibb that she doesn’t rush to race another IMWC for which she has not prepared (mainly because her twin goals post Olympics are the World Long Distance Tour Championships and the IM70.3 World Championships.
Last year was different: her mother was racing Kona, and it was Kona.
Whence do you whip up your “She was destroyed from [IMWC Kona] last year” assessment? She raced her first full distance. Were the other lead athletes in that race “destroyed”? None (LCB, Haug, Philipp, Knibb, Ryf, Sodaro) who finished raced again till 2024, per normal (rather than 'cos ‘destroyed’)
“post Olympic lull” Does Knibb do ‘lulls’? She is not racing in Nice because she chose not to validate. Interviews she gave earlier this year made it clear she knew the various options to getting a start (validation, Oly gold, wild card). I would like her to race (if only to negate the ‘rest of the best’ cheap shots) but wouldn’t like the precedent of giving her a wildcard set.